Certain surgical procedures, such as colostomies, ileostomies or urostomies result in a surgically created opening or stoma in the abdominal wall through which bodily wastes are discharged. Because the patient has no control over the discharge, an appliance is utilized which includes a collection receptacle in the form of a pouch or bag which is affixed to the patient in alignment with the stoma. The appliance collects waste as it is discharged and also protects the stoma.
Other medical procedures, such as wound care or irrigation, also utilize devices which include a collection receptacle. Such receptacles may be in the form of a pouch or bag as well.
Such collection pouches or bags are often formed of thin sheets of material welded along the periphery. The materials are generally composed of light weight, odor proof, flexible polymeric plastic.
Because a portion of the material to be collected is often gaseous, a problem arises with respect to the distention of the pouch due to the accumulation of gas, a great disadvantage in an ostomy system, for example, which is designed to be inconspicuous and permit the ostomate to engage in normal physical activity without embarrassment. To overcome the problem of accumulated gases, many devices utilize a configuration which permits venting of the gas. However, the venting of gases often presents a problem with respect to odor. In order to eliminate odor as the gas is vented, deodorizing filters have been employed.
The gas venting problem has been subjected to a variety of different solutions. Some pouches have been provided with a tortuous path vent opening, with or without a deodorizing filter. Others have been provided with openings in the pouch wall, covered with deodorizing filters. Another approach has been to provide replaceable filters attached to the bag by a series of plural sequentially peelable adhesive members.
Certain ostomy systems, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,363 to Steer et al., permit pouches to be removed and reused, hence prolonging the useful life of the pouch beyond the useful life of a single filter. It is therefore often necessary that the deodorizing filter itself be replaced periodically in order to insure that complete deodorization is taking place. On the other hand, it may be desirable, in certain instances, to eliminate the deodorizing filter completely, and simply seal the vent. Accordingly, it is most desirable to have a structure where the filter can be removed as necessary so that it can be replaced or the vent can be obstructed. The use of adhesive coated elements is particularly well adopted for this purpose.
Prior art pouches adapted for use with filters either have had the filters permanently bonded to the pouch wall, such as by heat or impulse welding or, if removable filter mounting is employed, the filter is adhesively mounted directly to the pouch wall surrounding the vent opening. However, the pouch wall is made of a material which, in the latter case, does not permit an adhesive element to be easily removed and replaced. Because the pouch wall is so thin, an adhesive strong enough to make the required seal will often cause the wall to tear around the vent opening as the filter is removed, clearly a severe disadvantage. In addition, the pouch wall is so thin surrounding the vent opening that it tends to wrinkle, preventing a good seal with adhesive coated filter.